


Comfort and Joy

by JuliaM (seshat0120)



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Magnificent Seven AU: ATF, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:14:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28993506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seshat0120/pseuds/JuliaM
Summary: It's Ezra's first Christmas since he's come to Denver.  He's still feeling uneasy with his place on the team and some of them are still unsure of him.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

A dusting of snow softly fell barely coating the street as the taxi pulled up to the darkened townhouse. Ezra reached over to the front seat handing the driver the fare as well as a sizeable tip.

“Need a hand, buddy?” the driver asked as he looked into the backseat at his passenger.

“No. Thank you,” Ezra answered as he reached to open the door. “I can manage. He got out of the taxi and balanced on one leg as he reached in to grab the crutches he needed to get around. A misstep at an arrest three days ago had sent him careening down a flight of icy stairs. He’d lain at the bottom clutching his left leg and groaning at the intense pain while his teammates completed the arrests around him.

At the hospital he’d been diagnosed with a simple fracture of his tibia as well as bumps and bruises from the fall down the stairs. He’d be in a cast and on crutches for a minimum of six weeks. After that, he’d need physical therapy before he’d be back to doing field work. In the meantime, he’d been relegated to either staying in the surveillance van or in the office filing reports and catching up on paperwork.

He waited until the taxi pulled away before carefully making his way up the walk to his front door. The last thing he needed to do was to fall again and make himself anymore useless than he already was.

It had been six months since he’d come out to Denver at the request of Chris Larabee to join the fabled Team Seven of the ATF as an undercover agent. At the time, he’d felt like it was a lifeline to get him out of what had become an unbearable existence with the FBI in Atlanta. So far, the last six months hadn’t gone any better.

A series of mistakes and miscommunication on his first case had led Larabee and the rest of Team Seven to think he was running out on them. He’d done his best since then to make up for the errors of that first case, but, as his mother often told him, appearances were everything and there was no second opportunity to make a first impression. He knew he hadn’t found favor with his new teammates, but at least he’d been able to earn their respect in the intervening months with his work undercover. Now, with the broken leg, he wouldn’t be able to do that.

Stopping at the door of his townhouse, he looked around to his neighbors’ houses. Despite the late hour – it was nearing 2:00 am – most of them still had Christmas lights on outside. He could even see Christmas trees glowing inside two of them. Shaking his head slightly, he unlocked the door and entered his home.

He flipped the light on in the foyer and dropped his keys onto the table by the door. He made his way into the living room, turning on lights as he went. It was now the day before Christmas, but his home looked anything but cheerful and merry. It still looked like he’d just moved in. There were even packing boxes neatly lined up against one wall. It had been four months since he’d moved into the townhouse, but he was still unsure if this was where he’d call home.

Limping back to the office he’d set up in one of the two bedrooms, he checked the answering machine for any messages. Seeing the flashing light, he pushed the button to play. The machine mechanically told him he had three new messages. The first two were telemarketers and he deleted them before they’d said more than a few words. He immediately recognized the voice on the third message as his mother and let it play.

“Hello, Darlin. I just wanted to let you know I’m in St. Louis pursuing a very promising business deal and won’t be able to make it to Denver. I’m still not sure why you even invited me to come out there for Christmas. You know this is a very lucrative time of year…and when did you get so sentimental?” She sighed before she continued. “Really, Ezra, I don’t know why you keep wasting your God-given talents. I thought you’d know better after Atlanta. I don’t know why I spent as much time as I did teaching you. You just don’t seem to learn. If you come to your senses, why don’t you join me. You can reach me at (555) 271 8943.” She hung up without even a goodbye or Merry Christmas.

Shaking his head slightly, Ezra pushed the button to erase the message. When he’d contacted his mother to invite her to spend Christmas with him in Denver, he really hadn’t expected that she would…but he’d hoped. Instead, it was the same old thing about him wasting his talents. He’d lost count of how many times he’d heard that from her since he was first recruited to the FBI. He doubted he’d ever hear the last of it.

He made his way back to the living room. Pulling a bottle of whiskey from the built-in bar, he poured a shot and drank it back quickly before pouring another. As he did, his eyes caught sight of the wrapped Christmas gift on the coffee table.

He’d been invited to Chris Larabee’s ranch for Christmas Eve festivities with the rest of his teammates. He’d been informed that they didn’t exchange gifts – just did a Yankee swap. At first, he’d been touched by the invitation to join his teammates. Now he felt he’d been invited simply out of obligation and nothing else. He doubted his teammates really wanted him there. “Bah humbug,” he whispered as he turned away and made his way to his bedroom. He’d spend this Christmas Eve just as he had the past several years – home with a good glass of brandy and a book to keep him company.

He had to stifle a few sneezes as he changed into his pajamas and got ready for bed. He’d had to do that more and more with all the Christmas trees, garlands, and wreaths around. He felt like he was living on Benadryl to counter his allergies. It was just one more reason to dislike the holiday.

He had a fleeting thought that if he were living in some literary fantasy world, now was the time he’d be “Scrooged” and visited by ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. Well, they could show up if they wanted, but he wasn’t interested.

Just before he turned off his bedroom light, he looked at the Christmas card on his nightstand. It was the only one he’d received. A monkey dressed in a Santa suit adorned the front of it. “Merry Christmas, you little monkey,” was the simple missive inside of it. He made a mental note to remember to call Aunt Vera tomorrow to wish her a Merry Christmas then turned off the light. Thankfully, sleep came quickly before his thoughts had a chance to start racing and keep him up all night.


	2. Chapter 2

It felt like he’d only just fallen asleep but the light leaking round the edges of the drapes told him he’d been in bed for several hours, at least. He squinted at the clock on the nightstand. 7:30 was far earlier than he’d normally like to be awake on a day off. When he hadn’t made it home and to bed until 2:00 am, it was definitely too early. He lay for a moment trying to figure out what had woken him up when he finally heard it. Someone was ringing his doorbell as well as knocking on the front door. He pulled the pillow over his head, but he was still able to hear the ringing.

Throwing back the blankets, he blearily sat up and reached for the bathrobe he’d tossed on the end of the bed. “So help me, if there are any ghosts out there when I open the door,” he muttered as his thoughts just before bed came back to him. He grabbed the crutches from where he’d propped them beside the bed and trudged to the front door. He looked through the peephole to see who’d disturbed his rest. “Good lord,” he complained when saw Buck and JD standing outside. Just as he reached to unlock the door, one of the two started pounding on the door and he heard Buck’s voice.

“C’mon, Ezra. We know you’re in there. Get outta bed and let us in.”

Ezra pulled open the door and squinted at the bright daylight. “Do you know what time it is?” he asked irritably.

“Uh…just a little past 7:30,” JD helpfully informed him. “Did we wake you?”

“Did you wake me?” Ezra parroted back. “By the time I finished those reports Mr. Larabee had me filling out and got home it was two in the morning. What do you think?” He took another look at his two early morning visitors noticing, for the first time, the red and white hats with reindeer antlers perched on the head of each. “What in the world do you have on?”

“These,” Buck explained as he pointed to the hat on his head, “Are our official Christmas Eve hats. Haven’t you ever seen a Santa hat with reindeer antlers.” As he spoke, he slipped past Ezra into the townhouse.

“No, I haven’t. And by all means, do come in.”

“Thanks,” JD said not noticing the sarcasm. “It’s really cold out this morning.”

As JD walked past him, Ezra swung the door closed in defeat. “You don’t say,” he mumbled then followed the two in. He watched as they made themselves comfortable on the couch. “May I ask what you two gentlemen are doing here this early in the morning?”

“Oh. We figured you’d need a ride to Chris’s for the festivities and thought we’d pick you up on our way,” Buck explained with a smile. He waved a hand up and down taking in Ezra’s state of dress. “I guess you should probably get dressed. I never thought I’d see the day we’d see Ezra Standish in flannel and not Armani.”

Ezra tugged the terrycloth rob more snugly around his body. He could feel his cheeks grow hot at the reminder that he still had on his night clothes. Over the past six months he very carefully cultivated the outward appearance his teammates had seen. The faded flannel pajama pants, MIT t-shirt and comfortable, worn robe didn’t fit with the persona he’d projected. “Why on earth would you be showing up at this hour of the morning for something that won’t be taking place until tonight.” He held back mentioning his second thoughts about attending.

Buck let out a laugh. “You thought Chris’s invitation was just for tonight?”

“Yes. Isn’t that when Christmas Eve festivities are normally held?” he asked emphasizing the word eve. “I didn’t believe it was all-day affair?”

This time, JD laughed. “You’ve got a lot to learn.”

Buck got up and slung a friendly arm around Ezra’s shoulders. “Don’t know what you’ve done in the past, Hoss, but around here, Christmas Eve starts in the morning and goes on ‘til late at night.”

Ezra pointedly looked at the hand that rested on his shoulder, but Buck merely smiled and ignored the look. “What, pray tell, necessitates a full day?” Since Buck didn’t remove his arm, he slid out from under it.

“Well, we have to cut down a tree,” JD began to explain. “Getting all the decorations up around the house...and there’s decorating the tree once it’s set up.” He shrugged. “We do all kinds of stuff.

Ezra gestured to cast on his leg. “As you can see, I’m not exactly up to tramping through the woods looking for a tree. You gentlemen should go along. I’ll get a cab or rideshare out to Mr. Larabee’s later tonight.” He kept it to himself that he was seriously considering remaining home and not joining in.

“And leave you here all by yourself all day? That just wouldn’t feel right.” Buck flapped a hand in the direction of the bedroom. “You just go get yourself dressed. We’ll wait for you. JD’ll even make you some coffee.”

It quickly became apparent to Ezra that he wasn’t going to get rid of the two men and it would be best to just go along with them, at least for now. Once he was at Chris’s, he could make some excuse and call a cab to come home. “I’ll make the coffee,” he stated emphatically. “Lord knows what either of you would do to it.” He eyed both of the other men who’d unzipped their coats so he was easily able to see that they both had on “ugly Christmas sweaters” in addition to their holiday hats. “I’m hoping attire similar to what the two of you have on isn’t required.”

Again, Buck let out a laugh. “Not to worry, Ez.” He rubbed a hand down the front of his sweater. It was black trimmed in red with a gaudy design of gold bells with red bows. “Jingle my bells,” was emblazoned across the chest. JD’s wasn’t much better. It was a garish green bedecked with stripes of gold tinsel garland and small, red ornaments. “It takes a special guy to be able to wear one of these.”

“Yes. Well...I’m not sure I’m quite that special.”

“Anything’ll be fine Ez,” JD added. “Except maybe one of those fancy suits you always wear to the office.”

“You do have casual clothes?” Buck asked as it occurred to him, he’d never seen Ezra dressed casually.

“Yes. I have casual clothing.” Ezra had made his way to kitchen. He propped the crutches against a counter as he prepared a pot of coffee. “What would make you think I don’t?”

“Never seen you in them,” Buck pointed out as he leaned on the half wall separating the living area from the kitchen.

Ezra was going to make a remark about never having seen Buck dressed up but stopped himself. It would be petty to say anything and, as he’d been reflecting when he’d come home, he hadn’t done much to endear himself to his teammates. Maybe it was time to stop trying to antagonize them. Instead, he nodded slightly since what Buck said was true.

He pulled coffee mugs from the one of the cabinets and put them by the coffee maker. “Help yourself when it’s ready. I’m going to take a quick shower and change.”

“Take your time,” Buck told him. “Chris isn’t going to start anything until we get there.” He’d seen the subtle change in his teammate’s demeanor and wondered what it was about.

Again, Ezra nodded before grabbing his crutches and going back to his bedroom and the en suite bathroom to shower and get dressed.

“Geez,” JD said once Ezra was out of sight, and, he assumed, out of hearing in his bedroom. “Look at this place? He must be some kind of grinch or something.”

“Give him a break. He probably couldn’t do anything because of his leg.”

JD cocked an eyebrow in doubt. “He did that only a couple of days ago.” He turned a slow circle in the living area. “There isn’t even a Christmas card or anything like that. You’d think he’d at least have a friend or relative or something who’d send him one.” He pointed to row of neatly stacked boxes. “And what’s with the boxes. Didn’t he move in here like four months ago?”

“Hold it down, would you. I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical explanation why he hasn’t finished unpacking yet.”

“Yeah,” JD snorted. “Like he’s planning on leaving as soon as he gets a better offer.”

“JD,” Buck warned although he didn’t say anything else. Truthfully, he didn’t know what to make of the enigmatic man any more than JD did. And his friend was right. The lack of any personal touches in the townhouse and the still packed boxes did lend credence to the idea that Ezra was only passing through.

“What? You still think there’s a logical explanation.” JD flopped down to one of the couches. “Hell, maybe everything we heard about him in Atlanta is true. Don’t forget about everything that happened on that first case with him. And it’s not like he ever goes out of his way to be friendly or anything. And how does he afford all this? There’s no way his salary is any better than ours. I sure as hell can’t afford to be driving around in a Jag and I know you can’t either.”

M7M7M7M7M7M7M7

Unbeknownst to the two men in the living room, Ezra stood on the other side of the closed bedroom door able to hear everything they said. When he heard JD question how he could afford both his home and car, he let out a sigh. It was the same thing all over again. He’d hoped he’d be able to escape the rumors and accusations this time, but it was starting to seem unlikely. He wondered if there would ever be a place where he’d fit in.

He was about to open the door and tell the two men to leave – that he’d changed his mind when JD’s words came back to him. The young man seemed convinced he was looking for a reason to run out on them. If he reneged on going to Chris’s, JD would probably see that as further proof. Instead, he moved to his closet to lay out clothes for the day.

He carefully pushed aside the suits that he wore when going into the office. There were four of them. Only two were “designer” labels. He’d been wearing both of them and one of the others since first starting with the FBI. Still, he was able to convince those who saw him in them that they were many and they all had designer labels. _Appearances are everything_ had been drilled into him by his mother at an exceedingly early age. She’d seen to the car even if it were hard to convince anyone that it had been a birthday gift. He’d seen to everything else even if it did frequently stretch his budget. It was just one way he put his God-given talents, as his mother like to call them, to use.

He pulled a pair of dark gray chinos from the closet and tossed them on the bed. From the dresser, he took out a chunky knit turtle-neck sweater in a deep plum color. It was one of the few spontaneous gifts his mother had sent him. Her explanation was that the color made her think of him and how it would make his green eyes pop – whatever that meant. The clothes would be casual without having to give up his aura of always being dressed up. Besides, the sweater was quite warm which was a plus considering how cold it was outside and how chilled he felt.

Sitting on the bed, he wrapped a plastic bag around the cast to keep it dry. He had to muffle a few sneezes as he did so. He’d have to remember to take Benadryl before leaving and to bring the box with him since it sounded like there’d be a live tree in the house.

Fifteen minutes later he was showered and dressed and went back to the living room where he’d left his colleagues. They were both sitting at the breakfast bar with mugs of coffee in front of them. He noticed the carton of half and half and the sugar bowl on the counter next to the coffee pot.

“Hope you don’t mind we grabbed some cream and sugar,” JD said.

“You might want to do some grocery shopping, Hoss, unless you’re planning on living on half and half, a couple of bananas and a dozen eggs.”

Ezra felt his face color slightly. Although it was true, he hadn’t had time to get to the grocery store over the last few days, his refrigerator and cupboard were usually a bit on the bare side as he sought to keep just the essentials he needed to keep his food budget down. “I...uh...I didn’t have much time to get to the grocery store while we were working the case.” He gestured to his leg. “It’s been a little hard the past few days.”

Buck lightly slapped him on the back then steered him to sit at the breakfast bar where he’d been sitting. “All you have to do is let us know.” He poured a mug of coffee and took it to Ezra along with the half and half and sugar. “Any one of us would be happy to give you a lift”.

Ezra poured some of the half and half in his coffee, stirred it, and took a quick swallow. “That’s very generous of you, but I wouldn’t want to put any of you out.”

“Wouldn’t be putting us out. You know, it is what friend’s do,” Buck told him.

At the word ‘friends’ Ezra looked up sharply.

“What? You didn’t think we were friends?” Buck asked seeing the reaction his observation had on the other man.

“I...um...I,” Ezra stuttered. How did you tell someone that you’d had too few actual friends to know when the offer of friendship had been held out to you?

“We are,” Buck said in voice that wouldn’t tolerate any argument. He threw a sharp look at JD when he rolled his eyes. Fortunately, Ezra’s head was down, and he’d missed it. “We better get the lead out or Chris is going to have the dogs out looking for us,” he added in an attempt to break the mood.

Ezra quickly emptied his coffee mug and started to get up to put it and the others in the sink but Buck’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. “We’ll take care of cleaning this up. You don’t need to be trying to do that with the crutches. You go get your coat.” He slid Ezra’s empty mug over to JD. “JD, put these in the dishwasher and empty the coffee pot.”

It only took a few moments for the two men to clean up in the kitchen. When they went to the living room to collect their coats from where they left them on the couch, Ezra already had on his overcoat and was pulling on a pair of gloves. A black backpack rested on the floor at his feet.

JD took note of the black wool overcoat and leather gloves. He was going to comment that it was a little impractical for what Chris had planned but thought better of it. Knowing Ezra, all he probably had were wool overcoats. He certainly wasn’t the type to have something as mundane and practical as a down parker in his coat closet. “What’s in the bag?”

“The gift Mr. Larabee said to bring as well as a book I thought I’d indulge in.”

“There’s no time for reading,” JD pointed out. “You may as well leave it here.”

“I thought while the rest of you were off tramping through the forest in search of a tree it would keep me company.” He gestured to the cast on his leg. “It would be foolhardy to try to join in that venture with you gentlemen.”

“He’s got a point,” Buck said as he grabbed the bag and hefted it over his shoulder. “Let’s get going.”

M7M7M7M7M7M7M7

Ezra was grateful to have the assistance of the other two men going down the couple of steps from his front door. They’d iced over in the night and he was sure without Buck’s steadying hand, he probably would have ended up breaking the other leg. “Where’s your...vehicle,” he asked once he was on level ground. He looked but didn’t see the beat-up pickup Buck drove.

Buck led the way to a non-descript dark sedan. “I checked this out of the motor pool so it would be easier on you. It was Chris’s idea,” he added before Ezra could point out that they weren’t supposed to check vehicles out of the motor pool for personal use. “He’s taking care of all the paperwork.”

“I’m sure Mr. Larabee knows what he’s doing.”

It was only a thirty-minute drive out to Chris’s ranch once they were all in the car. Buck and JD traded ideas of everything they’d be doing while Ezra remained quiet in the front seat. Truthfully, he was nervous. He generally avoided spending too much time outside of work with his teammates. Part of that was his budget not allowing for a lot eating out or going out for drinks, but a main part of it was that he just didn’t know how to fit in. It was why he’d been so surprised when Chris had invited him for Christmas Eve. Again, though, he was having second thoughts about accepting the invitation.

“You’re awful quiet,” Buck observed when they were almost to Chris’s.

“Just thinking,” Ezra responded with a fleeting smile.

JD’s head popped up between them from the back seat. “What are looking forward to most?”

“I beg your pardon,” Ezra asked clearly not understanding the question.

“About today and tomorrow. What are you looking forward to the most? I can never decide what I like the best about Christmas...the decorations...the food.”

“I...um...I hadn’t given it much thought.”

“What do you usually do?”

“I...um....I’ve generally been quite busy with a case to really do anything.”

“FBI really worked you hard, huh?” Buck commiserated. “They must have given you some time off. What did you do last year?”

“I'd just come off a trying case. I spent the holidays catching up on lost sleep,” Ezra quickly responded making a point not to look in the direction of either of the other men. It was a bald-faced lie. Although it was true, he had completed a case just before last Christmas, that wasn’t the reason he’d been in his apartment alone. Just like this year, his mother had been too busy with “business” to spend time with her only son. There really weren’t many...or any...friends to speak of in Atlanta who wanted to invite him to share the holidays with them and although there were a few family members who would have welcomed him, it felt like it would have been an intrusion. It had been far simpler to allow himself to get caught up in a book and forget it was Christmas instead of dwelling on how alone he felt.

“Well, what about when you were a kid,” JD pressed. What did you like about it then?

Ezra was quiet for a just a moment debating how he wanted to answer the question. His first instinct was to glibly offer that it was the presents that he’d liked the best. He assumed it was probably the answer the two men expected from him. Instead, with JD words about his not trying to be friendly with any of them still echoing in his mind, he gave an honest answer. “The lights,” he said softly.

“Really?” JD asked. “I would have guessed the presents.”

“I believe that goes without saying,” Ezra responded with just a hint of hardness to his voice.

Buck glanced quickly at the man in the passenger seat and saw how stiff his posture had become and wondered what it was that had caused it. “It was the candy, for me,” he said hoping it would break the tensions. “All that chocolate and the candy canes...I couldn’t get enough.”

JD laughed at Buck’s answer. "Is chocolate and candy canes code from women?”

“Ha ha, JD. I’m trying to be serious and share something here and you make it a joke.”

“Oh please. You couldn’t be serious if your life depended on it.”

For the rest of the drive, JD and Buck continued to good-naturedly bicker allowing Ezra to return to his quiet contemplation.


	3. Chapter 3

Even though Buck, JD, and Ezra were the last to arrive at Chris’s, Buck was still able to maneuver the car to park as close as possible to the door giving Ezra a shorter route to traverse. While he helped Ezra out of the car, JD started pulling bags out the trunk.

“What’s all that?” Ezra asked curiously as he watched JD carry an armful of bags up to the porch.

“Just some grub for later.” Once Ezra was out of the car and steady on the crutches, Buck leaned back in to grab his bag.

“I wasn’t aware we needed to bring anything.” Ezra gestured to the backpack Buck was still holding. “Mr. Larabee just mentioned bringing a gift. I didn’t realize.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. Chris probably didn’t say anything to you with your leg and all. He probably figured it would be too hard for you.” Buck slapped the other man on the back nearly sending him sprawling. “We gotcha covered. Hey, JD. I’m going to help Ez up the stairs and then I’ll help you with the rest of that.”

“I can make it on my own, Mr. Wilmington. No need to have Mr. Dunne do all the work.”

“You sure?” Getting a nod from Ezra, Buck stood back and allowed the other man to make his own way. He kept an eye on him to make sure he didn’t have any problems navigating the stairs while he helped JD get the last of the bags from the trunk.

“Why do you suppose he does that?” JD asked as he hefted the last bag.

“Do what?”

“Call us by our last names. It’s been six months. You’d think he’d call us by our first names by now.”

Buck shrugged at a loss as to what prompted the behavior from Ezra. “Must just be his way.” He slammed the trunk closed and grabbed the two bags at his feet. “Let’s get this stuff inside.”

Chris met them at the top of the stairs and took one of the bags from JD. Ezra wasn’t to be seen having already gone inside. “Nice of you boys to make it,” he joked with a smirk.

“Ezra wasn’t ready when we got there. He seemed surprised to see us that early,” JD answered.

“Take these in,” Buck said thrusting the bag he was carrying into JD’s arm then taking the one Chris had taken from him and giving it back. “I need to talk with Chris for a second.”

JD juggled the bags for a moment almost dropping them all before getting them under control. “Sure, Buck. Wouldn’t want you to do too much work.”

“JD,” Buck growled.

“Fine. Whatever.”

Once the two men were alone on the porch, Buck grabbed Chris’s arm and pulled him further from the door. “Problem?” Chris asked once he’d let him go.

Buck took off his hat and ran his hand back through his hair. “Maybe. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just imagining it, but I think there’s something up with Ezra.”

“He give you problems about coming?”

“No,” Buck said shaking his head. “Not exactly. JD’s right in that he was surprised to see us this early. I think we woke him. He seemed fine when we got there. You know how he loves to be a smart ass. Then he just clammed up like something was bothering him or something.”

“And you don’t have any idea?”

Again, Buck shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he overheard JD and me when he went to take his shower.”

“Buck, you want to just spill it or do I have to pull teeth.”

“JD said something about Ezra getting ready to run out on us again and maybe there’s something to those rumors about him...well...you know.”

“About him being a dirty cop,” Chris blurted out then quickly lowered his voice. “You know there’s nothing to that.”

“I know, Chris. Have you ever seen where he lives, though? Unless his salary is double what the rest of us are making, I can’t see how he can afford it...and that car he drives.”

“He said it was a gift.”

“Yeah. I know and I believe him. But...”

“But what?”

“But his place looks like someone who’s only passing through. He’s been there four months and there are still boxes piled up in the living room and there isn’t anything personal in the place. There wasn’t even a picture or anything like that.”

Chris looked back at the now shut front door and shook his head slightly. “Who was it who said something about a riddle wrapped in mystery? I don’t think we’ll get any answers out here, though.” He clapped Buck on the shoulder. “Let’s get inside.”

M7M7M7M7M7M7M7

The only thing that could describe the inside of Chris’s house was controlled chaos. Boxes of Christmas decorations – some opened and some still sealed – were spread around the living room. In one corner of the room, Nathan and Josiah were good naturedly arguing if the lights or garland should go on a tree first. Vin sat on a nearby chair eating an apple and offering his thoughts on the matter every now and then. JD could be seen through the doorway to the kitchen emptying the bags he brought in and popping his head out to offer his thoughts.

In the middle of the living room, Ezra stood looking around. There was something akin to shock on his face.

“Ezra, take a load off,” Chris ordered the bewildered man. “Vin, I better not find the core of that apple anywhere other than the trash in the kitchen. JD, just put that stuff in the refrigerator.” He walked over to Nathan and Josiah and slung an arm around each. “You two can argue about garland and lights all you want but unless we get a move on and get a tree, it’s not going to matter.”

“Give me your coat before you sit,” Buck said as he rushed over to Ezra.

Ezra leaned his crutches against the couch and shrugged out of his coat. “Thank you,” he said as he handed it to Buck then slowly sat down. His gaze kept going from one box to another. He never expected the reticent team leader to have such an accumulation of holiday decor.

“We’ve all added our own bits and pieces over the past couple of years,” Buck explained to Ezra’s unspoken question. “None of us really have any family to speak of and we all seem to gravitate here for the holidays.” He shrugged slightly. “It just seemed to work.”

Vin came over and plopped down beside Ezra on the couch. “What about you? You got any family.”

It was as if Vin’s innocent question triggered something. The bewilderment fled from Ezra’s eyes and it was almost as if Vin could see walls slam into place. “Some,” he answered not wanting to commit to talking about his mother. “We’re not particularly close.”

“Too bad. It’s always nice to have family around.”

“Yes, well, if you knew some of my family members, I’m sure you’d say different.”

JD, who’d come into the living room in time to hear what Ezra said about his family was ready to say something when he felt Buck’s elbow in his ribs. Wisely, he looked at his friend’s face and kept his thoughts to himself. “So, we ready to go?” he asked instead.

Vin nudged Ezra. “You should be thankful that’s keeping you from going with us,” he said as he pointed to Ezra’s broken leg. “If it’s anything like last year, JD’s going to pick out a tree that’s about five feet too tall to fit in here and the rest of us will spend about an hour explaining why it’s too tall. I’ve never seen someone so excited about getting the biggest, tallest tree imaginable.”

Ezra glanced over to JD who was almost vibrating with excitement. “Yes. Young Mr. Dunne most definitely doesn’t contain his excitement.”

Having heard Ezra’s comment, JD rolled his eyes at being called “Mr. Dunne”. “It’s just JD, Ez,” he reminded the other man.

“It’s Ezra, Just JD,” Ezra returned deadpan.

“Ha, ha. You’re really funny.”

“I do try.”

“Well, don’t give up your day job.”

“If you children are finished,” Chris chastised. “We better get a move on since it looks like snow’s moving in. I don’t want to be dragging a tree back through a snowstorm.”

JD, who’d never taken off his outerwear, bound over to the front door. “It’ll be Christmassy if there’s snow.”

“It’ll also make getting back harder,” Chris answered back before turning his attention to Ezra. “Are you going to be ok here by yourself? One of us can stay with you.”

Ezra leaned down to pull his book out of the backpack and held it up for Chris to see. “I’ll be quite fine, Mr. Larabee. I’ll take the time to catch up on some reading.”

“If you’re sure. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. We’ll all have our phones with us, so just call if you need anything. It shouldn’t take us more than a couple of hours.”

Getting reassurances from Ezra that he’d call if he needed anything, Chris rounded up the other five and they were soon out the door.

Once they were gone and the house quiet except for the occasional pop from the fire in the fireplace, Ezra let out a little sigh of relief. Since he so very rarely socialized with his teammates, he was only really used to them in the work environment. At least he’d have a few hours to better prepare himself for the rest of the day.

He’d been sitting on the couch reading for about fifteen minutes when the untidiness of the boxes strewn around the living room started to bother him. Putting down the book and grabbing his crutches, he got up from the couch intent on tidying the boxes. If forced to admit, he was also curious to see what was in them.

Pulling back the flaps of one, he discovered that it was filled with plastic candle lights for the windows. He noticed that the underside of each was labeled with different locations in the house. He guessed that’s where the lights belonged.

Looking around, he found an outlet that was easy for him to reach. Abandoning one of the crutches, he used his now free arm to carry the box of lights over to outlet. Although it was awkward, he managed to lower himself down to the floor. Taking the lights one by one, he plugged them into the outlet to check to see if the bulbs were all working. There were few that didn’t light up even when he tightened the bulb. At the bottom of the box, he found a container with spares and changed out those that didn’t work.

Once he checked the bulbs, he spent a few minutes figuring out how get up from the floor. When he realized just how ungraceful he must look, he was doubly glad no one was there to see him.

Once he gained his feet, he brought the box back over to the coffee table where he started lining the lights up based on the labels on the bottom. For those that were labeled ‘living room’ he took them over to the windows and set them down on the sills. He’d leave it to Chris to plug them in. It wasn’t something he’d admit out loud, but he was looking forward to seeing them lit. He remembered similar lights from his childhood and how he always loved to see their orange glow.

He moved on to the next box and found strings of lights for the tree. Whoever had packed them away had been meticulous about wrapping each strand around a piece of cardboard to prevent any tangles.

He brought the tree lights over to the outlet and plugged each one in checking to see if they worked. Of the four strands, only one didn’t light at all when he plugged it in. He spent a few minutes tightening each bulb in the strand until he found the loose one. One it was in tight, the whole strand lit up in a multitude of colors.

Putting the lights back in the box with the rest of the tree decorations, he continued to look through the opened boxes. There was an assortment of different types of decorations from whimsical to classic and he remembered how Buck had said they’d all been contributing to the collection of decorations.

He felt a pang of regret and longing when he realized how each of the decorations reflected the different personalities of the other six men. He may have been invited to their get together, but he was still the outsider – the one who didn’t belong. He was so tired of that. So tired of being the one left behind. He was tired of hiding behind a wall of aloofness and being separate...and he couldn’t put all the blame on others.

He’d spent so long trying to fool others...and himself...that he not only didn’t mind being the outsider but that it’s what he preferred, that he really didn’t know any other way. If you convinced everyone around you – and yourself – that you didn’t need friends, it didn’t hurt as badly when you had no friends.

JD’s words from earlier came back to him – that he never tried to be friendly. Maybe, just maybe it would be different with this group of men. Maybe he should let his defenses down. He didn’t think it was possible to be hurt any more than he had in the past.

He looked again at all the boxes of Christmas decoration that seemed to hold just a little bit of each of the other men. Maybe that could be the way he could make the first overture.

While he’d been moving around the living room looking in the boxes, he’d noticed one of the rooms off the living room was set up as a home office. He went in and found some white paper by the printer. He took some and went to the kitchen and sat at the table and began folding the paper. It took a few starts and stops until he remembered what he’d learned so long ago.


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Chris and the other five made it back to the house with the newly cut tree, snow had started to fall. It was still only a flurry, but it didn’t look like it was going to let up any time soon and he was glad they made it back before heavier snow started to fall.

“We’re in for a wallop,” Vin said as he looked up at the sky.

Nathan also looked up at the sky. “I don’t remember there being anything in the forecast about a snowstorm, just some flurries.”

“Trust me,” Vin said.

“Snowstorm or not, let’s get the tree and us in the house before it comes down anymore,” Chris said as he hefted one end of the blue spruce they’d cut down. “Someone get the door.”

The tree and men were soon in the house. The tree was set on the floor near where it would be set up. Chris was surprised when he didn’t see Ezra on the couch where they’d left him. He handed his coat to Josiah to hang up and went looking for his missing man. He found him in kitchen hunched over the kitchen table doing something with paper. He watched him for a few seconds trying to figure out what he was doing. If he thought the other man wasn’t aware of his presence, he was mistaken.

“I know you’re there, Mr. Larabee.” Ezra didn’t turn around or stop his folding. “Y’all sounded like a herd of elephants when you came in. I’d have to be deaf not to have heard you.”

“What are you doing?” JD asked as he came up behind Chris and also watched Ezra.

At the question, Ezra turned in the chair and held up a carefully folded piece of paper. “Making snowflakes. I hope you don’t mind that I helped myself to some paper.”

“Don’t mind at all.” Chris picked up another of the folded snowflakes from the table. This one was more delicate than the one Ezra had held up since it had intricate cutouts in it as well. He looked at it carefully then put it back on the table with the others. There were also a few stars and doves.

JD picked up one of the doves and turned it over carefully. “These are great. I didn’t know you could do this.”

“Thank you.” Ezra finished the final few folds to the snowflake he’d been working on then put it with the others. “Appearances to the contrary, I’m really not a…grinch.”

JD flinched when he heard Ezra’s word choice. Buck had been right. Ezra had overheard some of what he said. He wondered what else had been overheard.

By this time, the others had also come into the kitchen. Their curiosity led them to also inspect Ezra’s work. Josiah held up an intricately folded and cut star. “Beautiful work, son. I haven’t seen origami like this in a long time.” He placed the star back on the table, careful not to damage it. “Where’d you learn to do it.”

Ezra slid another piece of paper closer and started folding it although the folds had nothing to do with any of the creations he’d done up until now. It was more a way to keep his hands busy. “I stayed with a cousin over Christmas break when I was thirteen. She was quite talented doing origami and she taught me.” He gestured to the collection of folded paper. “I’m not as skilled as she was, and it’s been some time since I’ve utilized what she taught me. I’m a bit out of practice and rusty.”

Vin reached to pick up one of the doves. “If this is out of practice and rusty, I’d like to see what in practice looks like.” He ran a finger lightly over one of the wings. These are really beautiful, Ez.”

Ezra seemed taken aback by the compliment and shifted uncomfortably in the chair. “Um...thank you.” He started to fold the piece of paper more vigorously, tearing a corner of it. “Mr. Wilmington said you’d all contributed to the Christmas decorations. I didn’t realize so I thought maybe these could be my contribution.”

“You didn’t know,” Chris pointed out. “And I think these make a fine contribution. They should look good on the tree. Of course, if we don’t get it in place, that’ll be a moot point.” He directed the latter to the other men.

“I hope you don’t mind, but while you gentlemen were out, I took also took the opportunity to organize everything in the living room a bit and test the lights. I put in place what I could following the directions written on them.”

“You’re supposed to be staying off that leg,” Nathan pointed out.

Ezra twisted in Nathan’s direction. “I assure you; I did nothing to further injure my leg or hamper my recovery,” he defended himself taking Nathan’s words as chastisement.

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Chris soothed trying to head off any friction between the two men. “Nathan’s right, though. You are supposed to be off that leg and taking it easy.

“You should have it elevated, too,” Nathan added on.

A tight smile quickly crossed Ezra’s face. “Yes. I’m sure you’re correct.” He got up and reached for his crutches. “I’ll just go back to the couch in the living room so I can elevate it.” He excused himself around the other men and headed for the living room.

Ezra’s quick capitulation caught Chris by surprise. He expected him to have a smart remark. He realized this is what Buck had meant earlier, but he had no idea what either the cause of Ezra’s behavior was or what to do about it. “Let’s get things going,” he instead said to the others.

By the time everyone had returned to the living room and started to get the tree in place, there was no remaining evidence of Ezra’s brief docileness. Although he did remain on the couch with his leg elevated, that didn’t stop him from offering his opinion on what the others were doing.

“So help me,” Buck growled after the fifth time Ezra had suggested moving the tree just a fraction of an inch to the right or left, “you open your mouth again, I’m going to break your other leg.”

Ezra blinked innocently at the upset man. “I was only trying to help. Just a smidge to the left and it should be perfectly centered in front of that window.” As he spoke, he tried to smother a yawn. He’d managed to take a Benadryl when none of the others were looking to help with his allergy to the tree and it was masking most of symptoms. However, coupled with a late night and an early start this morning, it was also making him drowsy.

“Hope we’re not keeping you awake,” Nathan commented when he saw the attempt to hide the yawn. “It must get awful tiring laying on the couch doing nothing.”  
  


“Yes. Well. Supervising you gentlemen is quite the chore. I’d be happy to assist, but you did advise I should remain off my leg,” Ezra responded with a smirk before reaching for the bottle of water he’d put on the floor. Although the Benadryl was helping with the sneezing and watering eyes, there was an irritating scratchiness in his throat that he’d never experienced before as part of the allergic reactions he usually had when around conifer trees.

As the other men finished getting the tree situated and putting other decorations around the room, Ezra continued to offer his “supervisory advice” adding to the general hubbub in the room.

Josiah and Nathan had resumed their friendly disagreement of whether to put the garland or lights on first. When Josiah turned to ask for Ezra’s input, he noticed that he’d fallen asleep on the couch and realized it had been a few minutes since he’d heard his voice. He tapped Nathan on the shoulder and pointed to the sleeping man.

“How is he sleeping through all of this?” Nathan asked in wonderment. He and the others certainly weren’t being quiet but that didn’t seem to effect Ezra.

Hearing Nathan’s question, Chris turned to looking at the sleeping man and shook his head slightly. “My son would do that – just fall asleep no matter how noisy it was.” He saw Ezra shiver slightly. Although the room felt warm enough for them while they were moving around, it could feel chilly to someone sleeping. He took the throw off the back of the couch and draped it over the sleeping me. “He look ok to you?” he asked Nathan.

Nathan came over by Chris and looked at the sleeping man carefully. “He does look a bit pale and he sounds a little wheezy.” He shrugged slightly. “He could be coming down with that cold that’s been going around. Better to let him sleep than wake him to ask how he’s feeling.”

“You’re probably right.” Chris looked over to others. “Let’s try to keep it down and let him sleep.”

M7M7M7M7M7M7M7

It was nearly three hours before Ezra started to stir. When he finally woke, it was abrupt as he pulled in a quick breath and jack-knifed up. He looked around in confusion for a few moments while he tried to get his breathing under control.

Josiah, who’d been nearby, set his hand on his shoulder and rubbed lightly. “You’re ok, son. You’re at Chris’s.”

It didn’t take long before the confusion vanished from Ezra’s eyes and he turned Josiah. “I’m...um...I’m ok,” he reassured the other man. “I just...” He trailed off unsure how to tell the other man that an unsettling dream had woken him so suddenly.

Josiah cleared a space on the coffee table and sat on it, looking in concern at the younger man. “Looked like you were having a one of heck of a bad dream,” he prompted.

Ezra rubbed a hand over his face then swept it back through his hair making it even more untidy than it already was. “I...” he started then stopped. He pulled in another deep breath to compose himself, coughing slightly, then nodded. “Yes. It was most unpleasant.”

“If you want to talk about it,” Josiah offered, “I’m here.”

“Thank you,” Ezra responded with a tight smile. “I’d rather just forget about it.” He felt the scratchiness in his throat again and reached for where he’d left the bottle of water only to discover it had been moved. He looked around and saw it on the table by Josiah and pointed to it. “Would you mind.”

Josiah opened the bottle of water and handed it to Ezra. “Here you go. Just remember, I’m here if change your mind.”

Ezra looked at Josiah in surprise, the water halfway to his mouth. He could sense the offer from the other man was genuine and it caught him off guard. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had showed him that kind of concern. “Thank you,” he said again.

If Josiah saw the surprise, he didn’t call attention to it. “You feeling ok?” he asked instead. “Nathan said it sounded like you might be getting that cold that’s going around.” He reached out to cup one hand on Ezra’s cheek. “You do feel a bit warm.”

“A bit chilled, actually,” Ezra contradicted. He hadn’t been prepared for Josiah to reach out to him and hadn’t tried to move away as he normally would have. He would have written off the way he was feeling to his allergies, but it felt different than it normally did. He would have attributed the stuffy head he was starting to feel to the Benadryl wearing off but the chills and achy body he was also feeling generally weren’t allergy symptom. The fatigue he still felt wasn’t the usual drowsiness from taking Benadryl. “Mr. Jackson may be right. I am starting to feel a bit under the weather. Perhaps it would be best if someone were to drive me back to my abode…or I can arrange for a cab or rideshare.”

“You feeling that bad, Ezra?” Nathan had been listening to the conversation of the two and came over to check on the now ill man.

“No. If I am becoming ill, though, it would be for the best, so I don’t infect anyone else.”

Vin had also been listening and came over to sit by Josiah on the coffee table. “Hell, Ez, you probably got whatever’s been going around the building. If we’re going to get it, we’re going to get it. There’s no sense in you going home.”

“He’s right,” Chris chimed in. “Besides, the way the snow is starting to come down, it’ll take forever to get a rideshare or cab. You might as well get comfortable here.”

“And you don’t want to be alone on Christmas Eve, do you?” JD added on.

Ezra looked from one man to the other a little stunned. He wasn’t used to anyone wanting him around when he was feeling ill. For as long as he could remember, he’d been shunted from one relative to another by his mother any time he was under the weather. Those relative had only begrudgingly taken him in. Sometimes he’d only be there a day or two before he’d be sent off to someone else.

“I think it’s settled, son. You’re staying put.” Josiah gently pushed so Ezra was laying down once more. “Might as well get comfortable.” He pulled the blanket over the ill man and tucked it in around him.

“You all don’t mind me being here even if I’m ill?” Ezra still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that they weren’t trying to get rid of him.

“Wouldn’t have said so if we didn’t mean it. You just do what Josiah said and get comfortable,” Chris said.

“I’d say you could keep doing your supervising, but I don’t think there’s much left to be done,” Buck said with a smirk.

“Very well,” Ezra agreed. He felt a warmth go through him that had nothing to do with the blanket tucked in around him.

When Ezra agreed, Chris quickly walked over a pressed his hand to the ill man’s forehead. He wasn’t surprised when Ezra quickly swiped his hand away and scowled at him. “Just checking. You really must be sick if you’re agreeing and I didn’t have to threaten to shoot you.”

“Yes...well...even a broken clock displays the correct time twice a day.”

“Ezra, don’t make me change my mind and shoot you any way,” Chris responded to the sarcastic comment. Despite the severity of the threat, there was a smile on his face.

“Perish the...,” Ezra began to say only to be interrupted to cough hard and deep as if he were trying to bring something up. When it ended, his face was flushed, and tears streaked his cheeks. He rubbed at his chest. “That did not feel good,” he gasped.

“Didn’t sound good either.” Nathan pushed Josiah out of the way and took his seat on the coffee table. As Josiah had earlier, he rested his hand on Ezra’s cheek and then his forehead. “You definitely feel warm.” He looked over to Chris. “You have a thermometer?”

“Yeah. I’ll get it.”

“Gentlemen. Do we have to do this? I assure you, it’s no more than a cold.” Again, Ezra tried to sit up only to be held in place by Nathan.

“That cough does not sound like ‘no more than a cold’. If I had to guess, I’d say bronchitis or something.” Nathan accepted the thermometer Chris handed him. After a cursory look at it, he turned it on and held it in Ezra’s direction. “Just put this under your tongue and once it beeps, you can make all the excuses you want.”

Ezra looked at Nathan mulishly for a few seconds before he relented and opened his mouth to permit the thermometer’s entrance. He kept his eyes averted for the minute or so it took the thermometer to register. Still, he could feel the eyes of the others on him.

When the thermometer beeped, Nathan took it from Ezra’s mouth. “100.1,” he read. You’ve got a fever. It’s low-grade but still a fever.” When Ezra started to cough again, he helped him to sit up until the fit ended. “From the sound of that cough, I’d guess you probably have bronchitis.”

“You’re probably right,” Ezra agreed once he’d caught his breath. “I had it a couple of years ago,” he explained when he saw Nathan’s questioning look. “I believe this is what it felt like then.”

“Should we drive him to the hospital,” Chris asked.

“No,” both Ezra and Nathan said simultaneously although Ezra was the more emphatic of the two. “I do not need to go to the hospital,” he added on. “I’ll be fine.”

Chris ignored Ezra and looked toward Nathan. “You’re sure.”

“Yeah. There’s not much they’ll be able to do for him. He’d only end up sitting in a waiting room for a few hours and then they’d just send him home and tell him to get rest and keep up his fluids. We can manage it here.”

“I’m so glad you’ve decided that without my input, Mr. Jackson. It really would be in everyone’s best interests if I went home.”

“It wouldn’t,” Chris disagreed. “You’d be miserable by yourself at home and we’d all be worrying about you here. You just stay there and do whatever Nathan say.”

Ezra shook his head and started to get up. “I assure you…” He was cut off when Chris put a restraining hand on him and forced him down to the couch. “Just what do you think you’re doing, Mr. Larabee?”

“I said stay,” Chris ordered.

“If I may remind you, we are neither at work nor am I a canine that you can order about.” Ezra’s voice had become icy and he eyed the hand still on him.

Chris held his hands up in surrender. “You want to go home, be my guest. We’re just trying to help you out. Thought you might like a little company is all, but far be it from me to order you to do anything.”

Quiet fell on the room and the two men stared at each other for a few moments. Finally, Ezra relaxed his stiff posture and nodded his head just a little. “I guess it would be far more preferable to have some company...especially tonight.” Admitting what felt like a weakness to him was harder than any of the others may have imagined. He was used to being on his own and being self-sufficient. “However, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“I don’t think any of us thought you weren’t. Now that that’s settled, what should we be doing for him, Nathan.”

Nathan looked over to the window where snow could be seen still falling. “There’s a few things I can pick up at the pharmacy to make him more comfortable. I should probably get going before it closes.”

“Or the snow gets worse,” Josiah added. “I’ll go with you.”

Ezra watched as the two men went to get their coats from the front hall where they’d been left. “Please. You don’t have to do that,” he called after them. He also looked toward the window and the falling snow. “The weather will impede dri...” Again, a coughing fit interrupted him.

Nathan hurried back over when he heard the coughing. “Just settle down. The snow’s not that bad. We’ll be fine.” He looked over to Chris. “You got some honey?”

“Think so. Why?”

“Mix up about two teaspoons of it in warm water with some lemon. I should help the cough.” He looked over to Ezra. “And don’t you give him any problems. Just drink it.” He took his coat from Josiah and pulled it on. “We shouldn’t be long.”

Chris followed the two men to the door and stopped them before they went out. “Be careful driving.” Just as he was about to swing the door closed, he called out to Nathan, “How serious do you think this is?”

“If he stays quiet and rests, it shouldn’t be.”

“I’ll make sure he does.”

Chris walked back into the living room to see Vin supporting Ezra and holding a bottle of water for him to drink, JD hovering at the end of the sofa with a look that was both worried and, guilty, and Buck was nowhere to be seen although noises could be heard coming from the kitchen.

“He started coughing again,” JD answered Chris’s unspoken question. “Buck’s getting the honey thing Nathan said for Ezra to drink.”

Chris nodded then moved to crouch by the couch so he was on eye level with Ezra. “You look horrible, you know,” he said lightly.

Ezra pushed Vin’s hand and the bottle of water away and lay back, tugging the blanket up higher. “You’ve a way with words, Mr. Larabee.” His voice was rough from the coughing.

“Why didn’t you let Buck and JD know you were feeling bad when they picked you up this morning?”

“Truly, I wasn’t feeling bad. This seems to have come on quite quickly.” He looked down at the blanket covering him, not meeting Chris’s eyes. “I truly didn’t mean to interfere with your festivities. I have been trying to go home, but you won’t let me.”

Chris held back the sigh he wanted to let out. Sometimes, he felt like he was talking in circles where Ezra was concerned. “That’s not what I meant.” He scrubbed a hand back through his hair. “Look, I just want you tell us things like this. Don’t leave us guessing, is all.” He was rescued from trying to explain himself anymore when Buck came in from the kitchen with a mug.

“Here you go. Just like Nathan said.” He waited until Ezra had pulled himself up straighter before handing the mug over. “I made sure it’s not too hot so you shouldn’t have to wait for it to cool down to drink it.”

Ezra accepted the cup and took a sip from it. “Thank you, Mr. Wilmington.” He caught sight of where JD still stood looking worried. “Really, Mr. Dunne, there’s no need for you to look like someone kicked your puppy. This is nothing. Please continue with the festivities. I know you were looking forward to it.”

“It doesn’t seem right, Ezra. I know I said some stuff...” JD trailed off when Ezra interrupted him.

“I don’t know what you mean, Mr. Dunne.” Ezra looked hard at JD daring him to contradict. “I don’t recall anything being said.”

JD’s brows knit together in confusion. When Ezra had used the word ‘grinch’ earlier, he’d been convinced he’d overheard what he’d said to Buck that morning. “But...”

“But?” Ezra questioned; eyebrows raised almost daring JD to finish but hoping that he wouldn’t.

“Nothing,” JD said with a small shake of his head. He was still convinced Ezra had overheard him but if Ezra didn’t want to bring it in the open, he wouldn’t either. A change of topic seemed the safest bet. “We didn’t do anything with those snowflakes and stars you made. We were waiting for you to wake up. I thought maybe they could go on the tree.”

“I believe that would be a most acceptable place for them.” Ezra gestured to his broken leg. “As Mr. Jackson is insisting I stay off my leg, perhaps you could do the honors for me.”

“Sure,” JD readily agreed. “And Ezra, you’re not a grinch.”

“That may be so,” Ezra replied with a grin, “but that sweater still and will always be an eyesore.”

Chris looked back and forth between the youngest and newest members of the team. He had no doubt that Buck was right, and Ezra had heard JD’s comments, but he was offering an olive branch and it looked like it was accepted. “Finally, someone who agrees with me,” he said with a chuckle.


	5. Chapter 5

When Nathan and Josiah returned, they were loaded down with bags. “Now I know why you were gone so long. Did you guys buy the store out,” Chris asked when he let them in. “I thought you were getting a couple of things.” He took the bags Nathan was carrying and put them down before also taking Josiah’s so they could get their coats off.

“I wanted to make sure I got everything Ezra might need and we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some stuff as well. We got there just before they closed,” Nathan said as he took off his wet coat and hung it from one of the hooks by the door then held his hand out for Josiah’s.

When Nathan mentioned stopping off at the grocery store, Chris started looking in the bags. “Milk, bread, eggs, bacon? Those are bronchitis cures?”

“Bronchitis, no. Hungry men who want breakfast, yes.” Josiah answered as he picked up some of the bags. “The roads are bad and getting worse. Looks like you’ve got six overnight guests.”

Chris peered out the window to confirm Josiah’s assessment. He hadn’t realized how much worse the weather had become. “I didn’t realize it had gotten so bad.”

“Traffic’s a nightmare,” Nathan said as he also gathered up some of the bags. He peered past Chris into the living room where he expected to see Ezra on the couch, but it was empty. “Where’d Ezra get off to? He’s supposed to be resting.”

“Kitchen,” Chris answered simply as he picked up the rest of the bags. “And he’s fine. It’s the rest of us you should be worrying about.”

When they got to the kitchen, Nathan saw that Ezra was sitting at the kitchen table. His broken left leg was stretched out on another chair with a pillow supporting. He had a deck of cards in his hands that he was swiftly shuffling, cutting, and shuffling again.

“Ah, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Sanchez. Our esteemed leader was becoming worried that he’d have to set the dogs out to find you.” He cut the cards one-handed, flipping the Ace of Spades face up then smiled broadly at Nathan. “Perhaps you’d like to join us for a hand.”

Nathan looked from Ezra to Chris and raised his eyebrows in question. Ezra seemed more spirited than he had been when he left. He caught sight of the mug in front of him that he kept sipping from and suspected that it might have more to do with the glassy eyes and flushed cheeks than fever. He leaned over the table to pick up the mug and sniffed at. “This has whiskey in it,” he declared.

Ezra snatched the mug back and took another sip. “Yes. Did you know Mr. Larabee makes a quite passable hot toddy? It’s much better than just the honey and lemon you recommended.”

Nathan shot an accusing look over to Chris who simply shrugged. “And just how many of those have you had?”

Ezra finished what remained in the mug and held it out to Chris. “This was my third.”

“Let me get this straight. When Josiah and I left, you were on the couch with a fever and cough, but when we come back, you’re playing poker and drinking.” At that moment, the sick man started to cough. “And still coughing.” He pressed his hand to Ezra’s forehead and frowned. “And still feverish. You should be resting.”

“I am,” Ezra said once he gotten the cough under control. “I can assure you, there is nothing strenuous about a simple game of poker.”

“That depends on where you’re sitting,” Buck complained before getting up and gesturing for Josiah to take his seat.

“Leaving the table, Mr. Wilmington,” Ezra inquired with an arched eyebrow.

“Figured I’d give Josiah a chance and help put this stuff away.”

“And you, Mr. Jackson? Will you be joining us?”

Before Nathan could answer, Vin got up from his seat. “He’s cleaned me out. You can have my place. I’ll help Buck.”

Chris returned and set the refilled mug by Ezra then sat at the empty place. He let out a chuckle when Nathan took Vin’s now empty seat.

“What are we playing anyway?” Nathan asked with an ‘if you can’t beat ‘em’ look. “And you watch how much of that you’re drinking.”

“Five card stud, deuces are wild,” Ezra responded as he started to deal out the cards lightning fast.

Nathan watched the deal, impressed by how fast Ezra’s hands were moving but not willing to admit that. “How do we know you’re not cheating; you’re dealing so fast?”

Ezra finished dealing the last card and set the rest of the deck down in front of him. “You don’t,” he answered Nathan with a wide smile as he picked up his cards and fanned them out. “So, who’s going to open?”

The poker game only lasted a few more hands before Ezra was coughing more than he was playing. He started to show less interest in the game. “Pardon me gentlemen,” he said after another coughing fit. “I believe it’s time I left the table.”

“I’ve got something that might help out that cough.” Nathan got up and grabbed the bottle of cough medicine Buck had left on the counter when he’d been emptying the bags and poured out a dose of it. “This has an expectorant in it that’ll help clear out your lungs.” He handed the small dosage cup to Ezra with one hand and took away the still half-filled mug with the other. “And no more hot toddies. You can’t mix alcohol with meds.”

“Kill joy,” Ezra muttered then quickly swallowed the medicine, grimacing at the taste. “I’d much rather Chris’s hot toddies.”

“You’re going to go back to the couch and eat something once we get dinner ready.”

“Better do what he says, son,” Josiah said as he helped Ezra from the chair and made sure he had his balance. “Sounds like he’s given all of us our marching orders.” He took the sting out of his words with a smile. He hid his surprise when Ezra did as he suggested and, instead, followed him into the living room and helped him settle on the couch before going back to help the others get dinner together.

M7M7M7M7M7M7M7

While listening to the bustle of the others going back and from the kitchen to the living room as they set out dinner, Ezra relaxed on the couch and let his mind wander. The day, so far, had gone so differently than what he’d expected, especially after overhearing JD that morning.

The others had tried to involve him in some way with their celebration and get him to join in even in his limited capacity. He’d enjoyed playing poker and it didn’t hurt how surprised the others had been when they found out just how good he was at the game. There was just the tiniest part of him that was willing to admit that maybe, just maybe, he’d found a place where he could fit in. Maybe it was time, he thought, to risk a bit of himself.

He heard someone come into the living room and set something down on the coffee table. By the sound of the footsteps, he guessed it to be Vin. “It helped fund me in college.”

Ezra’s voice was so quiet, the other person nearly missed it. “Huh? What?”

Ezra turned to his side, a task made awkward by the narrowness of the couch and the cast on his leg. He cracked his eyes open enough to see that, as he suspected, it was Vin. “Poker. I’d use it to help maintain my funds while I was in college.”

Vin crouched down so he was on eye level with Ezra. “I guess you were pretty good at it even then.”

“I’ve always been quite proficient at it. Mother made sure of that from an early age.” A tiny smile flickered and was gone. “Child prodigy, she used to call me...when she was around, that is.”

Vin shifted uncomfortably. In the six months he’d know Ezra, he’d known him to proficient at his job, sarcastic, and a bit aloof. He didn’t expect what he could only describe as sadness and wasn’t sure what the appropriate thing to say was.

Ezra waved off the silence between them regretting that his need to share had made the other man uncomfortable. “Whatever it as that Mr. Jackson foisted on me is making me a bit maudlin. Think nothing of it.”

“No,” Vin contradicted quickly. “You got a right to feel the way you do. I just wasn’t sure what to say. I can’t imagine a man’s ma not wanting to be with him.”

Again, the sad smile came and went. “You haven’t met Maude Standish, or you’d understand. I imagine you spent a lot of time with your mother.”

“You’d be imagining wrong. She passed when I was five. Didn’t know who my Dad was so I bounced around some.” Vin looked over his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen where the others were. “This is as close to family as I’ve got.”

“I didn’t realize.” This time it was Ezra’s turn to fall into an uncomfortable silence.

“How could you? It’s not like we’ve taken much time to get to know each other since you got here.”

Whether it was what Vin meant or not, Ezra took the quietly spoken words as chastisement and immediately looked away. “I’m not used to sharing intimate details. I apologize.”

“Don’t know what you’re apologizing for,” Vin said with a shrug. “I haven’t done much sharing either. Could be a good time to fix that. Josiah says we’re going to be stuck here until at least tomorrow the way the snow’s falling.”

“What?” Ezra asked as he pushed to sit up on the couch. “I was planning on returning to my domicile tonight.” He grabbed his crutches where they leaned against the end table and struggled to his feet intending to go to the window and verify what Vin had told him. When he wobbled a bit, Vin grabbed hold to steady him then urged him back to the couch.

“Just sit down. It’s not going to change just because you go over to gape out the window.” We waved nonchalantly in the direction of the kitchen. “Chris’s got plenty of room and he’s used to putting us up and Nathan and Josiah got enough food to last us ‘til spring thaw.”

“But,” Ezra began only to trail off. If the roads were as bad as Vin was saying, he couldn’t in good conscious ask any of the others to drive him back home. He also couldn’t expect a rideshare or cab to do it either. “I didn’t bring anything with me,” he feebly said as the others came into the room.

“I can loan you something,” Chris said as he correctly guessed what Ezra meant.

“It just might not be the silk pajamas you’re used to,” Nathan joked.

“He doesn’t wear silk,” JD said as he reached around Vin to grab a handful of chips from the bowl on the coffee table.

Ezra’s faced colored slightly as he remembered that when Buck and JD had arrived that morning, he’d still had his nightclothes on. “I don’t believe a discussion of my preferred nightwear is necessary.”

Buck latched on the other man’s apparent embarrassment. It wasn’t often they saw Ezra off his game or embarrassed about anything. Gleefully, he decided to expand on it. “You might not believe it but when we picked up Ez, he still had on his pj’s and I just think they may have been older than JD. And they were about as normal as anything.”

“Lay off, Buck,” Vin warned when he saw Ezra’s face color. “A man can wear whatever he wants to bed.”

“Or nothing at all,” Josiah added with a grin.

“If you yahoos are done debating pajamas, how about if we just eat,” Chris half suggested, half ordered.

“And after we eat,” JD prompted.

“After we eat, we can do the grab. You’re worse than my son was with presents.”

JD just shrugged at the comparison.

Chris pointed to the platter of sandwiches and bowl of chips on the coffee table. “There’s this here and there’s a pot of chili in the kitchen. Nathan brought a veggie lasagna, too. I think he’s trying to get us to eat healthy.” He picked up one of the paper plates that were also on the coffee table. “What can I get ya, Ezra?”

Ezra eyes the platter of sandwiches warily. “If you don’t mind, I’ll pass, Mr. Larabee. I’m not feeling particularly hungry at the moment.”

“Figured that’s what you’d say,” Nathan said. “That’s why I got some of that chicken soup from the grocery store deli I’ve seen you eating before. I figured that might sit better for you.”

Taken by surprise, Ezra sat blinking in Nathan’s direction for a few moments. It was true that he’d brought in the chicken soup for his lunch a few times. He just didn’t realize anyone had taken note of it. “Um…that would be acceptable,” he finally said. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Wanted to make sure there was something you’d be able to eat. I’ll go get you some.”

Ezra nodded absently still surprised that anyone thought of what he’d like. He barely noticed Josiah moving the ottoman over in front of him and carefully picking up his leg to rest on it then tucking the blanket around him. When a bowl of warm soup appeared in front of him almost by magic, he took it, nodding slightly. Instead of starting to eat it, he swirled the spoon in it lost in his thoughts. He tried to remember the last time anyone had done something to take care of him because they wanted to and not because of an obligation, but he couldn’t.

“Works better if you eat it instead of just stirring,” Vin suggested as he sat by Ezra on the couch with a plate heaped with sandwiches and chips.

“Hmmm….yes,” Ezra agreed as he was pulled from his thoughts. He put a spoonful of soup in his mouth and looked around the room as the others brought in their dinner and found places to sit around the living room. Multiple conversation started up punctuated by frequent laughter. Ezra was drawn into a few conversations, but, for the most part, he was content to sit and let the sound of the voices of his teammates wash over him and marveled at the ease the other men had with each other.

Before long, plates were empty and the uneaten food had been put away. Six festively wrapped gifts were now on the coffee table. Ezra looked around for the backpack he’d brought with him. “Mr. Jackson, would you mind passing me my bag?” he asked when he saw it on the floor near where Nathan was sitting. Once he had it, he pulled out the gift he’d brought with him. The box was about three inches by four and less than an inch deep. It was meticulously wrapped in heavy gold foil wrapping paper with sprigs of holly. He handed it to Nathan to add to the pile with the others.

“Have you ever done a Yankee grab,” Josiah asked. This time, he was the one to sit by Ezra on the couch.

“I don’t believe I have.”

“It’s simple. Everyone pulls a number from the hat,” JD started to explain as he pointed to the hat Chris was putting folded slips of paper in. “Then we go in order from one. You get to pick whichever gift you want and unwrap it. Then whoever has two picks one and unwraps. Then he can either keep whatever it is or trade with the other guy. You keep going through all the numbers until everyone’s unwrapped something. Then, whoever has number one gets to decide if he’s going to keep what he has or trade with anyone else. Got it?”

“I believe so.”

Chris passed around the hat and everyone pulled out a number. Ezra was almost dismayed when he opened his to find the number one. He’d been hoping to be able to sit back and observe before taking part. Now, based on JD’s instructions, he’d be taking part for the whole exercise. When Chris asked who had one, he raised his hand.

“Which one are you going to pick?” The excitement flowed from JD as he asked the question.

Ezra studied the pile of gifts then pointed to a long and flat one with Santas merrily dancing on the wrapping paper. “If you’d hand me that one, please.”

“You sure?” JD asked as he picked up the gift and handed it over to Ezra. There was an almost nervousness to the question leading Ezra to believe that the gift in question had probably been brought by JD.

“Positive.” Ezra slowly peeled the wrapping off to uncover a nondescript white box. He took the lid off and pulled out the contents. It was a pair of heavyweight gloves. Ezra had no doubt they’d be warm in the cold Denver winter and more practical than the leather gloves he usually wore. If only they weren’t a garish red color. “These are wonderful,” he said holding them up. “I don’t believe I have any quite this heavy.”

JD leaned over to turn one of the gloves palm up and pointed to the black material on the thumb and index finger. “This is conductive material, so it’ll work with a capacitive touchscreen device.” When Ezra looked at him void of understanding, he further explained, “you can use the screen on your phone without having to take off your gloves.”

The explanation further confirmed for Ezra that the gloves had, no doubt, been brought by JD. “Marvelous and much better than the gloves I have.” He looked around the room taking in all the others so that JD wouldn’t be singled out unless it was his choice. “Well, thank you to whichever of you gentlemen played Santa and brought these.”

Chris was next and picked a tall box wrapped in heavy craft paper with red and green Christmas trees. Based on the shape of the box, Ezra guessed it was probably a bottle of some kind of alcohol. His guess was confirmed when Chris unwrapped it to reveal a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey. He very quickly announced that he had no intention of trading his gift.

“Don’t mean you’re going to keep it,” Vin joked as he picked next. After surveying the five remaining gifts, he picked up the one Ezra had brought. As he unwrapped it, Ezra held his breath wondering how his gift choice would be received. “Cool. A Starbucks gift card.” Ezra had thought it a safe choice since all the men seemed to go there throughout the day. He felt a sliver of disappointment when Vin reached over to take the bottle of whiskey from Chris and handed him the gift card. “Much as I like a good cup of coffee, this’ll keep me a lot warmer,” he joked.

The game kept going until all the men had picked and unwrapped a gift. The bottle of whiskey had been ‘stolen’ a couple of times, but each time it was met with laughter and good-natured grumbling. “It’s back to you, Ezra,” Chris said once everyone had had a turn. “You get to pick if you’re going to keep what you’ve got or if you’re going to trade with any of us.” He looked at Buck and Vin who were surreptitiously trying to hide their gifts of lottery tickets and the bottle of whiskey. “No hiding what you’ve got.”

“Just having a little fun, Chris,” Buck said with a chuckle as he put the bottle of whiskey where it could easily be seen.

Ezra leaned forward and eyed the array of gifts the others had. Although there were items that would have suited him better, he was hesitant to trade the gloves away when he remembered that momentary disappointment he’d felt when his gift was traded away. True, it was in the nature of the game. He just didn’t want to be a source of disappointment. That had happened too often in his life. He settled back more comfortably and kept the gloves in his lap. “I believe I’d prefer to keep these instead.”

Most of the others looked surprised that he’d keep something that was so clearly not his style – especially JD. “Are you sure, Ezra?” There was a hopefulness to his voice.

“Quite sure, Mr. Dunne…Just JD. I find that the gloves I have aren’t very practical for winters here in Denver. These will keep me much warmer.” He tried one of the gloves on, flexing his fingers. “They’re a perfect fit - as if they were made for me.”

“Might say they fit like a glove,” Buck said a chuckle and bouncing eyebrows.

“Mr. Wilmington, I don’t recommend you seek work in the comedy field,” Ezra said seriously causing the other men to start laughing.

Once the laughter had died down, Chris pointed to the tree. “JD, you want to get the last one over there.”

JD eagerly bounced up from where he’d been sitting cross-legged on the floor and hurried over to the Christmas tree. There was still one gift remaining under it. He picked it up and brought it over to where the others were sitting and handed it to Ezra. “This one’s yours.”

Bewildered, Ezra said, “I don’t understand,” as he reflexively reached to accept the gift that he could now see was two shirt-sized boxed tied together with ribbon.

“It’s tradition,” Chris started to explain. “We all chip in and get the new guy something for his first Christmas with the team. Sort of a ‘welcome aboard’. Since you’re the new guy, you get the gift.”

Ezra blinked several times at the explanation and his mouth opened and closed a few times although nothing came out. “I…um…I don’t know what to say,” he finally forced out.

“Well, what do you know?” Buck said in wonder. “We finally found a way to shut him up.”

“Hey, Cowboy, how come you never thought of this before,” Vin joked. “Things woulda been a lot quieter.”

Whatever comeback Ezra might have had was lost as he buried his face in the crook of his elbow and started coughing. The fit seemed to go longer than the others had, and everyone looked on nervously. Josiah reached over to rub Ezra’s back comfortingly. “Easy, son,” he said softly. “One of you boys want to get him some water.”

Vin quickly jumped up at the request while Nathan crouched down in front of Ezra. “Just try to breathe easy. It’ll pass.” He took the gift from the ill man’s lap and put it on the floor out of the way.

Eventually, the coughing fit tapered off and Ezra slumped against the back of the couch. His face was flushed red from the exertion and tears were streaming from his eyes. He impatiently brushed them away. “That was not fun,” he gasped out. His voice sounded abraded from all the coughing. He accepted the bottle of water Vin held out to him and took a cautious sip from.

“Nathan?” Chris asked. The simple utterance of the other man’s name asked if the illness was serious enough to warrant getting medical aid.

“He should be ok,” Nathan answered. “He goes to a hospital tonight, he’s just going to end up sitting around the waiting room. We can take care of him better here.”

“I am in the room, gentlemen,” Ezra reminded. “And there’s no need for a hospital or for anyone to take care of me. I’m…”

“Don’t you dare say you’re fine,” Nathan cut in. “You’re not fine. Why can’t you just let us take care of you and do something nice for you?” he asked unable to keep the frustration out of his voice.

Again, Ezra was taken off-guard. “I apologize.” He shrugged slightly. “To be honest, I’m not used to anyone doing anything like that for me.”

This time, it was the turn of the other six to be surprised to silence. None of them expected that type of admission. It was Josiah who finally broke the silence. “Well, you better get used to it. It’s going to happen a lot.”

Ezra muffled another soft cough then nodded slightly. He bent over to get the gift Nathan had put on the floor. “I should see just what it is you gentlemen got for me.” He smiled briefly as he sought to hide how self-conscious he was as he sat back with the gift on his lap. He untied the ribbon holding the two gifts together. He very carefully began to pick the tape off the topmost of the gifts. When he saw Buck becoming patient, he smirked as he continued to carefully unwrap the gift. He folded the paper neatly and put it aside then took off the top of the box.

When he folded back the tissue paper to reveal the contents, his breath caught slightly, and he looked over to Chris with a question in his eyes.

“It’s the lightest weight level IV body armor on the market. You’re always saying our standard issue vest disrupts the…uh…lines of your suit and you don’t want to wear it, so you don’t give yourself away. We all decided it was time you had something you didn’t have to worry about showing. I’m tired of worrying about you getting caught in friendly fire and not having a vest. You’ll have no excuse now.”

Ezra picked up the body armor vest from the box and held it out. He looked around at the other six. “I don’t know what to say.” 

“Just say you’ll wear it,” Vin suggested.

“Definitely,” Ezra agreed as he put the vest back in the box. “But this is too much. I…” Once more he was at a loss for words. He’d been looking at similar vests that he could wear under his clothing without it showing and knew what the costs were. Even if the other six had all chipped in together, he knew it was still a substantial cost.

“If it means you come home in one piece, it’s not too much,” Josiah said to him. He took the opened box and put it on the couch between them then gave the still wrapped box a little nudge. “You’ve got one more.”

Again, Ezra shook his head slightly. This was beyond anything he’d expected, and he couldn’t fathom what was in the other box. Again, he slowly peeled the tape from the paper. This time it wasn’t just to irritate Buck but because he was astounded by the lengths his teammates had gone.

Once the paper was removed and folded with the other piece, he slowly took the lid off the box and folded back the tissue paper inside. He picked up the first object in the box and looked at it quizzically. It was a standard issue black ballcap with “ATF” in white letters on the front like they wore during arrests. He wasn’t sure why he was being given it.

“Turn it around,” Buck prompted.

Ezra did so and when he saw the back of the cap his eyes widened. Centered on the back above the adjustable closure was “Team Seven” in golden letters. It was a match for the ballcap the other six wore. For the past six months, he’d been wearing the standard issue ballcap but had noticed the other had the “Team Seven” embroidery.

“Before you say anything, take out the rest,” Chris said.

Ezra handed the ballcap to Josiah to hold then reached and pulled out the other object in the box. He shook it open to reveal a black ATF field agent windbreaker. This time, he didn’t have to be prompted but knew where to look. On the collar in back, “Team Seven” had been added. Again, his eyes widened. He’d always felt out of place in the standard issue ATF windbreaker and ballcap when the other six had Team Seven emblazoned on theirs, but he’d never asked about it.

“I’m damned tired of you not being in uniform,” Chris complained. The smile on his face was in direct contrast to the gruffness of his words. “You’re one of us, Ezra,” he said as his voice became serious when the other man continued to look wide-eyed. “It’s time everyone else knows it...time you knew it, too.”

Ezra put the windbreaker down on his lap but kept running his fingers over the “Team Seven”. 

He opened his mouth to speak but the sudden lump in his throat made speech impossible. Instead, he nodded at his team leader.

All this time he’d been thinking he was still the outsider – that he was still just tolerated, but in his lap he held the proof that he was part of the team. These men wanted him to be a part of what they’d built. For the first time in far too long, he felt like he belonged.

He glanced over to his right when he felt Josiah’s arm go around his shoulders and give a quick squeeze. Although he didn’t lean into the one-armed hug, he also didn’t pull away as he normally would have from physical contact. “Thank you,” he finally forced out in a shaky voice. “All of you, thank you. I sincerely mean it.”

Chris nodded shortly and stood up. “It’s still early. How about we get in another couple of hands of cards,” he said to the others and started toward the kitchen. As he walked by the couch, he leaned over and squeezed Ezra’s shoulder. “You join us in a little bit if you feel up to it. We’ll understand if you want to rest instead.”

Ezra reached up and patted the hand on his shoulder. He looked up and gave a fleeting smile. “I’ll be along in a bit.”

Again, Chris nodded and gave the shoulder his hand rested on another squeeze. “What are you all waiting for?” he said to the others. He knew the gifts had shaken Ezra and wanted to give him some time to compose himself.

Once he was alone in the living room, Ezra pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was thankful it didn’t trigger another coughing fit. He again rubbed his hand lightly over the windbreaker then picked up the ballcap and looked at the back of it once more. Smiling, he placed the two back in the box, put the lid on the box, then put it on top of the one holding the body armor. To the top of that, he added the box with the gloves.

He reached over to turn off the light near him, leaving the room lit by just the Christmas tree, the window lights, and fire. As he looked around the warmly lit room, he let his hand rest on the gift boxes as his mind wandered back to how he’d begun the day. He’d been unsure of his place on the team. More to the point, he’d been unsure of his place in Denver. What he’d overheard JD say had just added to how he was feeling.

Tonight, though…tonight had turned all those feelings upside down. Through their actions and the gifts they’d given him, his teammates had told him that not only was he a part of the team they’d created, but they also cared about him. It had been far too long since he’d experienced that.

To be honest, JD had been right when he said it looked like he was ready to run with all the boxes still packed. It was the exact reason why he hadn’t unpacked them. Those boxes contained all the personal bits of his life that meant the most to him and, if he had to leave quickly, he wanted to make sure they were ready to go. He realized, though, that there was no place else he wanted to go. This was where he wanted to stay…in this city and with these men. They’d showed him that he was a part of them and now it was time for him to put down roots and make this his home.

He gave the pile of gifts one more pat then grabbed his crutches and got up from the couch. “JD,” he said as he walked into the kitchen. “About those boxes in my living room…”


End file.
